We were somewhat surprised that Sony Mobile did not announce any new Xperia handsets during this morning’s MWC press conference. Obviously we got the global Xperia Tablet Z announcement everyone expected, but it was the first time that the company has not announced any new handsets at MWC since its Xperia Android adventure began.

In 2010, Sony Ericsson announced the Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro at MWC, in 2011 the Xperia neo, Xperia PLAY and Xperia pro were announced and last year saw the introduction of the Xperia P and Xperia U.

It is not as if there weren’t any rumours either, the Xperia SP (C530X) specs have already been widely leaked along with a number of images. Then there are other model numbers we’ve come across including the C210X (Xperia L), C360X and C550X.

We suspect the reason behind the MWC no-show is to not dilute the marketing campaign around the Xperia Z. Some people may have been sitting on the fence and waiting until MWC to see what else Sony has in store lower down the Xperia range. Those announcements will still come of course, but at an ad hoc date in the future and perhaps without much fanfare either.

Right now, it’s all about flagship Xperia devices and to this end, Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai reaffirmed the company’s intention to “further enhance the premium mobile segment”.

“In the past year we have worked hard to integrate mobile into the heart of the Sony business and placed all our Android smartphones and tablets under a single brand – ‘Xperia’. It is a premium brand with a consistent user experience across every device and a great example of what we can achieve as ‘One Sony’,” said Kazuo Hirai earlier today.

Sony Mobile looks to be taking a departure from its 2012 strategy of releasing a wide range of phones to suit all budgets to one that is focused on higher-margin flagship devices. This doesn’t mean the company won’t release low or mid-range devices, but marketing dollars will probably be focused on the high-end devices such as the Xperia Z and Xperia Tablet Z.

Sony Mobile confirmed that the Xperia Z is now available across 60 countries and 140 sales channels, the widest ever for a Sony Xperia smartphone.

It also said that it has received strong support from a number of global operators. “The response to Xperia Z from our customers since launch has been incredibly positive. We highly recommend this smartphone to our customers. We are delighted to learn that both products will be available globally, allowing others to benefit from Sony’s premium mobile entertainment experiences,” said Kaoru Kato, President and Chief Executive Officer of NTT DoCoMo.

Good job sony!! xperia Z will greatly benefit from this strategy and so as Sony itself.

Aokde Gharra

sony, please please please, support world-wide software services such as music unlimited movies unlimited etc etc! i would love to be a subscriber!!!!!
can’t wait to see what sony has for H2 2013 since i might upgrade to H2 flagship.

and to others – i read today that xperia Z has LOW CONTRAST RATIO. Is this a deal breaker ? because phones from other manufacturers had more than double the amount which xperia z has. it’s even lower than the xperia S :worried:

If only sony use the snapdragon 600 it would be perfect. I know few mhz wont do much. But knowing the latest should be available, Sony still lagging behind just by a bit…

PRo

No buddy I donno why these reviewers dont use der mind, as Sony has placed this display to give Users dynamism adjusting the contrasts and Colors…… Uh can actually adjust it by “DISPLAY CALIBERATION” !!!!!

harbinger2020

Us americans here are getting shafted….

Rahul Joshi

I really doubt the statement of Xperia Z being available in 60 countries… There is no update on India launch yet..

I think that is is great that they did not announce other phones. Sony needs to stick with 1 – 3 phones a year and continue to develop those throughout the years to come. The Z should stay the way it is as far as design and the hardware and software needs to improve throughout those years to make it the best that Sony has to offer in a smartphone. The Tablet Z was a great announcement and works well with the XZ. Looking forward to owning them both in the white versions.

Just received confirmation that I’m receiving my black xperia z this Thursday in the UK. Can’t wait!

Greco

Just got an Xperia T, the phone is great, Bravia Engine really makes a difference in the pictures!
The camera ain’t outstanding
for an 13 megapixel but I hope that when jelly bean is released for the phone, improvements will be made.

Well you mentioned the black was nicer so if I don’t like it I’ll have someone to blame lol. I spoke to this nice lady at phones4u customer services and as she’s seen both colours, I asked her opinion and even she suggested the black was away nicer option. It also looks nicer in the YouTube videos…

Where will you be ordering yours from? I just called up phones4u. They just received stock! Which means I would have got it tmrw but they can’t as the release date for the UK is Thursday. One more day wont kill me. Please do let me know which colour you end up getting

jag

the release date of the phone here in Singapore is really on Feb 28 too. but to make the one who preordered first happy, they said that we can pick the phone tomorrow together with the freebies. ^^
i’ll get mine in one of the carriers here. i dont know about other telcos here if they will also do the same thing. still dont know which color.. wahuhu!

I got mine straight after I last replied to you! How do you move apps to SD card. Seems to be no option

jag

Nice! ^^
I can’t find it either. I’m thinking that there won’t be any move to SD options because of the internal storage?
What firmware version is your phone? Because i saw an update in my pc companion but haven’t updated it yet. I’ll try later when I get home

Well if you have a memory card inserted you can only move videos pictures and music in the storage menu. FW ver is 10.1.A.1.350. I need to check PCC. What about yours. Email me. Its easier. usman22489@googlemail.com

jag

aah i see.. glad to know. ^^ mine is the same FW but the PCC says that i have an update available. haven’t tried it yet.. i was too bc yesterday. any news about it?

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